A report from Deadspin alleges that Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's story about his girlfriend dying from leukemia last fall was a hoax. In a detailed and lengthy investigative report, the website reportedly discovered that this is no public record of Te'o's girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, ever being enrolled at Stanford or in fact having ever existed.

The report goes on to quote a woman who claims her photos were used in fake social media accounts for Kekua.

Te'o, who finished second in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, said following last fall's game against Michigan State that he had played to honor of Kekua as well as his recently deceased grandmother.

Notre Dame released a statement on the story:

"On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te'o and his
parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in
which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently
ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead
him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia," the statement from
Dennis Brown, assistant vice president at Notre Dame, read. "The
University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and
his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax.

"While
the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling
matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception
to entertain its perpetrators."

Te'o also released a statement on Tuesday in which he claims to have been the victim of the hoax:

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her.

"To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating.

"It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life.

"I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been.

"In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious. If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was.

"Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft."

Te'o is currently training in preparation for the NFL draft at the IMG Institute in Bradenton, Florida, according to ESPN.

According to the statements from Notre Dame and Te'o, both the school and Te'o were aware of the hoax by the time the team arrived in Miami for the BCS National Championship Game. Te'o was asked about Kekua and her death during a press conference on January 3. Below is the transcript of the question along with Te'o's answer:

"Q. Manti, how have the football-related commotion and excitement of the past year helped you get through the turmoil you've faced with your grandmother and girlfriend? And how have the quiet periods been for you, given you more time to reflect? Is that a good thing or double edged?"

"MANTI TE'O: I think whenever you're in football, it takes your mind off a lot of things. You know, this team is very special to me, and the guys on it have always been there for me, through the good times and the bad times. I rarely have a quiet time to myself because I always have somebody calling me, asking, do you want to go to the movies. Coach is always calling me asking me, "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" I have three roommates, Zeke, Carlo and Robby Toma, who are always yelling at each other, who's going to play Call of Duty. I'm rarely by myself, and that's how I like it. I'm always around my guys, always around my family."

"They started out as just friends," Brian Te'o said. "Every once in a while, she would travel to Hawaii, and that happened to be the time Manti was home, so he would meet with her there. But within the last year, they became a couple."